It’s amazing to me how our society, and perhaps I should say American society, encourages us at all points to buy.  I’ve never been one much to shop, so I’m not swayed by the spring sale signs, the back to school sales, or the holiday sales.  But if I were an avid shopper, I can’t imagine how tantalizing these frequent messages might seem.

And yet we are beginning to ask ourselves: do we need it?

I really take this one step further.  If you are going to buy it, I’d think for the long term.  Clothes can last a very, very long time.  Some of the clothes I have, I bought eight or ten years ago.  If you take care of them, they last.

So the next time you think that sweater is really cute, I’d look again.  Is it that attractive that you’ll want to wear it in two years?  Four?  Seven?  Realize all the inputs that go into making those clothes.  Environmental impact of delivery, growing cotton on perhaps arid land, and the precious water used to grow these crops.  Think about the valuable resources we are using to create these clothes, and ask yourself, is it truly worth it?  Will I commit to this sweater for years to come?  Is it that important to me?  Is the effect it’s had on our world to “get here” benevolent enough?

Of course, if this is too much of a challenge for frequent shoppers, you can always start by encouraging yourself that when you do buy one item, you give away another.  That is a laudable practice.  Yet remember, we’re still taxing our world to produce.  So let’s realize how precious each item we buy is, and what it took to get here.  Then you should enjoy a purposeful purchase and continue forward in gratitude for what we have.